Not the Only One
by Sariasprincy
Summary: She had always been the perfect wife, but he was not the perfect husband. MadaSaku/TobiSaku
1. Outta This Town

**_Chapter One  
Outta this Town  
MadaSaku/TobiSaku_**

Steam rose from Sakura's coffee mug. The wispy, white mist slowly rising only to fade away, taking the heat with it. Growing colder and colder with each passing second. From her place at the table, she could hear Madara elsewhere in the house. The bedroom. Getting himself ready for work. Like every morning.

Only it wasn't just any morning.

Sakura couldn't bring herself to drink the cup she had made herself. Just simply stared ahead as she listened to those familiar sounds from the other end of the house. The slam of the shower door. The draw of the dresser. The pause as Madara adjusted his cufflinks in the mirror.

The faint clack of his tailored shoes against the polished hardwood was what finally drew Sakura from the deep corners of her mind. She blinked hard, raising the coffee to her lips. Fighting back her grimace at the sour taste her thoughts left.

"Good morning," Madara greeted.

Sakura looked up from her cup, that practiced smile passing her lips. "Good morning."

Not that it mattered. He hardly cast a glance at her. Instead he headed straight for the coffee maker that still held enough for his morning cup.

Neither spoke as he filled his to-go mug. Both thinking about the argument that had filled their night. Trying not to notice the tension that still lingered like a storm that wouldn't pass. Sakura was always the first to break it.

"Do you want me to make you breakfast?" she asked.

An empty offer. She knew his answer long before the question ever left her lips.

"No, thank you. I have a conference this morning," he said. His voice just a little too distant. A little too emotionless.

Still, that smile held as she stood. Ready to see her husband out the door for what would surely be a long, hard workday. "Okay, I'll make us something nice for dinner then."

"You should not wait up for me tonight. I have reservations with a potential new business client this evening," Madara told her.

With his back still turned, he didn't see the way her smile cracked. How his easy dismissal chipped away a little more at her fracturing heart.

Only once Madara had finished pouring his coffee and sealed the lid for his travel mug did he finally turn to face her. Her falling smile held strong again for the man she had promised her life to.

"I'll see you tonight then," Sakura said softly.

Madara nodded but didn't offer her any real promise. Even the kiss to her temple felt hollow. A habit more than a gesture of affection.

Sakura took it nonetheless before she followed him to the door. A silent statue on the stone stairs that welcomed guests from the large, circle driveway to the grand entrance of their multi-story home. And the wave goodbye just as cold as Madara slipped into his prized Jaguar and drove away.

Even after those familiar tail lights faded from view, Sakura didn't immediately move, her ice-carved smile gone. Just eyed the perfectly managed lawn and garden in front before her gaze drifted to the fancy cars decorating the wide drive. They were all different models of sports cars. All black. Except one.

The red BMW Madara had gifted her on their one year anniversary.

Sakura had never asked Madara for anything. She had loved the little grey jeep that had gotten her through college and then grad school. But even well maintained, two hundred thousand miles was too much for the little car and back then Madara had been only too willing to spoil her.

Those memories of happier times filled Sakura's mind. Reminding her of all the firsts, when everything was still so new. How there was still so much to explore in their relationship. Back when Madara had fought to spend every minute he could with her.

Now she was lucky if he even came home.

Banishing those memories, Sakura turned her back to the beautiful grounds and wandered back inside. It would be another few hours before the staff arrived to do their daily cleaning. The guest rooms needed to be dusted and washed for the family that would be coming into town in a few days time and the backyard and rear patio needed to be trimmed and straightened.

Had this big house always felt so empty?

Sakura couldn't recall. But her footsteps seemed to echo into every corner of the room, reminding her just how alone she truly was. Even the memories that should have brought her some comfort felt cold and empty now.

The long nights spent on the couch, some movie she couldn't even remember playing out on the television in the background. Those mornings when she wandered into the kitchen wearing nothing but Madara's shirt only to find him cooking in his boxers, hair tousled and messy. Each reminder of what had once been like a blade through the chest, carving out that gaping hole.

Sakura left her full coffee mug on the island counter. Her gaze wandered around the lavish kitchen. Only the opened bottle of red wine and a half-empty wineglass on the far counter a reminder of what had happened last night.

Another argument. Another demand to know where he had been the night before. Of course, Madara hadn't told her. But he didn't have to. Because Sakura already knew there were no new potential business clients. Tobirama had let that slip in pleasant conversation sometime ago. Which meant there were no late nights at the office. And Madara hadn't accidentally left three ties this week in his desk.

Sakura was not one to make accusations, but she wasn't dumb. The business trips the last few months had seemed normal enough. If only there had been conferences in those other cities at the time.

Tears began to build again in Sakura's eyes. Only this time she was alone so she didn't bother to hide them. The first sob finally heaving from her soul. She wondered how many women there were. How many times he had left her at home to share the bed of another.

The diamond on her fourth finger suddenly felt like that. Cold and repelling life. It slipped over her knuckle easier than it seemed it should. Like a piece that no longer fit her life.

Sakura left the ring on the counter.

Her feet pulled her towards the bedroom she had shared for nearly ten years. She didn't remember much of making an actual decision. Just one moment she was staring at hers and Madara's shared closet and the next she was pulling clothes off hangers as she shoved them into bags.

Sakura took everything she couldn't live without, leaving the things Madara had gifted her or bought for both their use. Her clothes, her books, her photos, her journals all went with her. Cramming the trunk of her car and then the backseat.

She was just shoving the final bags onto the floor behind the passenger seat when she heard another car pull up the drive and slow to a stop.

"Sakura?" a familiar voice called.

She froze when she recognized Tobirama. She had half a mind to hide, only too aware of her swollen eyes and flushed face. Too late.

"I didn't think you would still be home," he said, his car door slamming shut before his footsteps echoed against the concrete.

Sakura cleared her throat. "Yeah. If you're looking for Madara, he's already left for the day," she said lightly. She cringed at how forced she sounded.

Tobirama cursed quietly. "Dammit, I was trying to catch him before he got to the office," he said more to himself than her. Then he paused. "Where are you going?"

As if it would hide it all, Sakura slammed the backdoor closed and finally turned to face Madara's oldest business partner. In a three-piece suit that demanded attention and respect, Sakura felt small next to him in every sense of the word. There was no point hiding her face. The minute change in his demeanor was evidence he saw everything. The only thing she didn't expect were the next words out of his mouth.

"What's going on? Are you alright?" he asked. Nearly demanded.

The concern in his tone surprised her, but she didn't reply. Her face was answer enough.

Tobirama deflated minutely. "You found out."

"You knew," Sakura said. Not quite sure if she was asking or stating.

He glanced away, as if unable to look her in the eyes. "Yes, I knew," he said with a soft tone she had never heard from the proud man. It was a moment before he met her gaze again. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't think it was my place."

"It's alright," she said with more forgiveness than she currently felt. "I think I've known for a long time."

"Do you...have somewhere to go?" he asked. Like he didn't quite know if he was overstepping. It's not like they knew each other terribly well. Just polite conversation during dinner parties and the occasional passing by at the corporate office or when he stopped by for a working dinner.

Sakura's mouth opened, but nothing came out. Not because she didn't want to answer. But because she didn't know what to say. She hadn't really thought past leaving. From being out from behind these tall, iron gates. Everything else was still up in the air.

Tobirama didn't ask any other questions. He reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and handed her something. When she looked down, she realized it was a couple hundred dollars. Not a lot. But enough to get her by until she figured out when she was doing.

"I don't want this," Sakura said not unkindly, holding the money back out towards him.

Tobirama wouldn't accept it back. "As someone who has been in this situation before, take it," he told her quietly. "And if you need more, give me a call. When Madara finds out you're gone, he will cut you off from everything."

Somehow, Sakura knew he was right. It was fortunate Madara had put the car in her name. Because everything else - the house, the property, the credit cards - all had his proud Uchiha name on it.

Reluctantly, Sakura closed her fingers around the money and slipped it into her jacket. She flashed Tobirama a grateful smile. Just a quick quirk of her lips. His responding smile was just as weak.

"Wherever you end up, take care of yourself," he told her.

Sakura nodded. Then she was behind the wheel, driving away.

And as the large house and pristine grounds grew smaller in the background, she couldn't help glancing back in the mirror. At the lone figure in the drive. Watching her own tail lights fade off into the distance.

**_tbc_**

* * *

_This is an old story from tumblr. I'm posting it here because I'm considering a sequel (perhaps a small ficlet). Everything is still up in the air. _

_Inspired by watching "I'm Not the Only One" one too many times._

_Enjoy!_


	2. Into the City

**_Chapter Two  
Into the City  
_**

This was not supposed to be happening.

That single thought had rolled through Sakura's mind many times in recent weeks, but never as strongly as in this moment.

From her place on the witness stand, she couldn't hide from any eyes. Not the judge. Not the jury. Not the lawyers. Not Tobirama.

Not Madara.

He had always been a hard man to read. Even after nine years of marriage, there had still been moments when it was impossible to tell what was passing behind those black eyes. Like a statue sculpted from ice, Madara sat unmoving. The coldness he regarded her with was nothing she didn't expect. Having disappeared on him nearly a year ago she hadn't anticipated a warm welcome back. Even less so when her return had been prompted by a court subpoena.

"Answer the question, Miss Haruno," the judge demanded.

Sakura didn't blink. Her maiden name having become so familiar to her as the months passed since the divorce papers had been signed and mailed. Her identity returning to her.

"Miss Haruno, would you like me to repeat the question?" the prosecutor asked.

Even without looking at him, Sakura could feel Tobirama's eyes on her. They had spoken a few times since that fateful day a year ago, but not about the reason she was here in court today. This had completely blindsided her.

"No, I heard you," Sakura said, not quite coldly. But there was a bite of something in her tone. "You asked if I had even been aware of Madara embezzling funds from the Uchiha-Senju Corporate while married. My answer is no. Madara and I never discussed business when we were together."

Calm and professional, Sakura answered the prosecutor's questions. Her gaze never wavered from him as she spoke. Each question he asked attempted to chip away at her a little more. Break her down, destroy her testimony and her character. The demeaning questions, the lack of respect shown to her was obvious, even if he poised his questions in a seemingly innocent way.

"Let's discuss your marriage, Miss Haruno," he continued.

Sakura felt her spine stiffen defensively. "What about my marriage?"

"Was it happy? Were you happy?" he asked, his expression turning vaguely sympathetic.

She saw through his false sense of pity. "I fail to see what purpose that question serves," she said, her gaze briefly flickering to the Judge.

The older man behind the high bench beside her looked ready to intervene, but the prosecutor stepped forward. "I promise my questioning has a reason, your Honor."

The Judge looked doubtfully but he nodded nevertheless, silently granting his permission.

The prosecutor returned to her. "Miss Haruno?"

Sakura held his gaze for a long moment, weighing how much she could still conceal. How much of her dignity the courts would allow her to leave with. Her red lips twisted into an ironic smirk as she realized they intended to strip her down bare. Her eyes briefly dropped to her lap.

When she raised her gaze again, the look was gone. "Are you married, Mr…?"

"Tanaka," the prosecutor provided. Then he smiled, "And yes, I am."

"And is your wife happy?"

"She is. Very much so."

Sakura simply eyed him. The prosecutor was in his late forties. He was dressed well in an expensive suit and a pair of shoes that gleamed in the bright courtroom lights. He obviously had a successful career with a hard-earned reputation. Tobirama and Hashirama wouldn't have hired him otherwise.

"Are you certain?" Sakura asked, her voice soft, almost as if she were speaking to a lover. Still, it rang out clearly for everyone to hear. "You must spend plenty of late nights at the office. What time do you get home? Nine or ten? Maybe later? That gives her plenty of time to pay the bills, order the groceries, make dinner. Touch up her make-up after she realizes just how cold and lonely such a big house is. It only takes two hours for the swelling of her eyes to go down. After so much practice, a fake smile becomes her normal smile eventually."

The following silence was echoing. The prosecutor eyed her for a long moment and she wondered if something she had said struck a nerve.

Then he swallowed and his expression cleared. "You left Mr. Uchiha quite suddenly, Miss Haruno. Why was that?"

That familiar feeling of betrayal rose within her as she recalled the night she realized Madara was having an affair. It burned within her, tearing open the old wound, but she kept her cool façade. Every eye rested on her. Their pressure almost physical as they all waited to hear what she would say.

None, however, was as penetrating as Madara. His stare was piercing. Like a physical weight, he held her in place.

Sakura purposely avoided his gaze. Some part of her still stung that he hadn't come after her after she had left. She had sent the divorce papers and he had simply signed them. As if she had been nothing to him for last decade. That almost hurt more than the fact he had found another woman's company more pleasurable than her own.

Still, Sakura held her strong guise. There wasn't any question the lawyers could ask her that could make her feel small or insecure. She had felt plenty of that in the last year on her own. And she had worked hard enough to rebuild herself from nothing to fall back on those self-doubts.

"Because he was having an affair," Sakura eventually answered, her voice threatening to waver.

Mr. Tanaka was either unmoved or unconcerned. "Not because Madara had asked you to move a large sum of money for him?"

"No," she shook her head.

The questions turned less personal after that. The prosecutor wrapped up his questioning before the defense took their turn.

By the time the courts had let out nearly five hours later with the jury coming back with a guilty verdict against Madara on all counts, Sakura was exhausted. She had sat stone-faced through it all. Unmoving, she watched from the public benches behind the defense's desk as Madara was escorted out of the courtroom. He was far too wealthy and held far too much power to be removed in handcuffs.

Still, Sakura's heart felt like it was breaking all over again. For though they were divorced, Madara had been an important person to her for a big portion of her life. Someone she had planned on spending her life with, someone she had once thought would father her children. But that future no longer existed and that knowledge left a hollow ache in her heart.

"Sakura," a voice called softly. She glanced at Shikamaru, her lawyer and longtime friend, as he squeezed her arm gently. "Are you ready?"

Pursing her lips, Sakura swallowed hard to keep her emotions from showing. She glanced back towards the courtroom doors as another attendee exited, allowing the loud chatter and flashes of photography from the press to slip through. The idea of having to push through another gauntlet of reporters made her stomach roll.

Automatically her gaze fell back to Madara, only he was already gone. She was alone. Just as she had been for these long months since leaving.

Inhaling a steady breath, she nodded. "Yeah."

With Shikamaru at her side, Sakura pressed through the courtroom doors. Immediately, the press was on her, shoving microphones in her face and flashing her photograph. She kept her head held high, her mouth firmly pressed shut as she marched through the throngs until they reached the back of the courthouse where the reporters weren't allowed.

Once the heavy doors had closed behind them, Shikamaru told her, "There will be a sentencing trial in a few weeks. The jury will decide Madara's punishment then. You're not required to be present, but if you want to go, let me know and I'll accompany you."

Sakura nodded numbly, her mind still reeling from everything that had happened that day. She didn't know yet if she wanted to be there for that. To watch if Madara would not only lose everything he had worked for – and stolen – but potentially his freedom as well. It was all overwhelming.

However, before Sakura could begin to process everything, she heard the clack of expensive shoes echo on the tiles behind them. "Sakura," someone called.

Both Sakura and Shikamaru glanced over their shoulders to find none other than Tobirama hurrying towards them. Hashirama and their lawyer, the asshole prosecutor, were a small distance behind him, their eyes tracking Tobirama's movements as he descended the few steps that led to the courtyard and the private parking lot just beyond.

Upon sight of him, heartbreak and resentment swelled within her. She didn't know if it was justified and frankly, it didn't matter to her right now. He was one of the ones responsible for all of this. For Madara potentially going to prison, for tarnishing her name and leaving her feeling as if she had just run from home and her husband all over again. It left her with a strange conflict of emotions.

Without pause, Sakura continued on, pretending as if she hadn't seen or heard him.

Tobirama's pace increased. "Sakura, please wait."

She was angry and hurt and upset, but even still, she found her pace slowing. If only because Tobirama had been the one to help her out nearly a year ago.

Beside her, Shikamaru's hand slipped her to elbow. "I have to advise against you speaking to him," he murmured in her ear.

She pursed her lips together before her gaze flickered up to meet his. "I know. Just give me two minutes."

A frown crossed his face but he nodded minutely before he stepped away to a respectable distance. Sakura watched him go before she turned to meet Tobirama, her expression guarded and her shoulders stiff.

He stopped before her. He looked impeccable in a three-piece designer suit with gold cufflinks and a navy blue, silk tie. His white hair was pushed back away from his face, and though the trial had been in the headlines of the news for the last month, she couldn't spot one line of stress on his handsome face.

"I'm sorry," Tobirama said after he had caught up to her. "I didn't want to drag you into this. This trial wasn't supposed to involve you."

"But I was involved," Sakura retorted coolly. "My name has been dragged through the mud on every front page of every newspaper. My reputation has been shredded, my morals questioned and my career threatened."

He shook his head. "I tried to talk my lawyer out of calling you to the stand. I never wanted any of this for you."

Sakura laughed without humor. "But it still happened, didn't it? After I left Madara, I had to work for everything. I built myself up and just when I thought I could move on, I get subpoenaed. The media has called me everything from a gold digger to a manipulative whore. I've been accused of marrying Madara for his money, using my body to steal tens of thousands from the corporation and then divorcing him once I got all the cash I needed. So tell me, what exactly did you think would happen to me when I get dragged into all of this?"

Tobirama didn't immediately respond but the guilt was clearly visible in his face. It was enough that it looked like it physically pained him to hear everything she had gone through, but she didn't feel any sympathy for him. In the end, she had suffered more than anyone. Even Madara hadn't been slandered to nearly the same extent as her.

"I am so sorry, Sakura," Tobirama murmured. He reached out towards her. "Please, tell me what I can do."

As if he was poising to strike, Sakura flash-stepped back out of his reach, a threat and a warning apparent in her expression. "You can leave me alone," she said, her words dripping with venom.

She didn't miss the pained look in his expression before she turned her back and crossed the courtyard. Shikamaru followed behind, only briefly tossing a glance back at Tobirama before they headed towards their cars.

And as Sakura walked away, she pretended not to notice the pair of eyes that tracked her every movement until she was in her car and on the road, making her way back out of the city that had only ever chewed her up and spat her out.

**_tbc…_**

* * *

_It has to be angsty-er before it can get happy right? More to come!_


End file.
